10 Proven ways to grow your community with HubSpot CRM-Powered Member Portals

Growing a community involves more than just attracting members. It’s about creating opportunities for interactions, providing value and strengthening relationships. We're sharing 10 effective strategies to use HubSpot CRM and member portals to build a vibrant, engaged community.

"Using HubSpot's CRM alongside your member portal transforms how you connect with your community,"  states Kye Bessant, General Manager of Sales & Solutions at Modern Visual.

"It enables more efficient outreach, improves member experience  and drives continued engagement."

Jump menu: 🔗

1. Centralise member data for personalised engagement
2. Segment your audience for targeted communication
3. Automate onboarding processes for new members
4. Create a content rich member portal to encourage participation
5. Leverage HubSpot workflows for community nurturing
6. Utilise member feedback and surveys for continuous improvement
7. Implement gamification and recognition to increase engagement
8. Offer exclusive resources and content to members
9. Use CRM analytics to identify growth opportunities
10. Build a supportive, interactive community environment

1. Centralise member data for personalised engagement

The starting point for community growth is having a thorough understanding of your members. HubSpot’s CRM allows you to gather and store all member information, contact details, behaviours and interactions in one location. Having a complete picture enables you to send relevant messages and tailor your content, which improves satisfaction and retention.

Key actions:

• Import and organise contact data efficiently.
• Track member actions across channels.
• Use detailed profiles to personalise communication and content.

Knowing your members' interests and behaviours helps you reach your audience more effectively. HubSpot’s segmentation tools let you split your members into groups based on location, interests, activity levels or membership status. Sending relevant messages to each segment encourages participation and strengthens loyalty.

Key actions:

• Create dynamic lists based on segmentation criteria.
• Build targeted email campaigns.
• Adjust portal content to suit each segment.

3. Automate onboarding processes for new members

A smooth onboarding experience builds trust and encourages members to get involved early. Use HubSpot’s workflows to automatically send welcome emails, provide helpful resources and guide new members through your community.

Key actions:

• Design an onboarding email sequence that introduces your community and highlights key resources.
• Assign tasks to team members to follow up if needed.
• Monitor progress and refine the workflow to improve onboarding.

Your portal should act as a central hub filled with valuable articles, webinars, discussion forums and exclusive resources. HubSpot’s content management features allow you to organise this content well, making it easy for members to explore and stay active.

Key actions:

• Regularly update resources and events.
• Use visual navigation aids to improve readability.
• Incorporate interactive elements like forums and Q&A sections.

5. Use automation workflows to boost community interaction

Automation helps you keep members engaged without requiring manual effort. 

Here are two specific workflows that can increase participation:

1. Welcome and engagement workflow:

Steps:

1. Trigger: When a new member creates an account.
2. Action: Send a personalised welcome email thanking them for joining.
3. Wait: 5-7 days.
4. Follow up: Send an email recommending popular resources or upcoming events based on their indicated interests.
5. Goal: Encourage members to explore and participate early.

2. Re-engagement for inactive members workflow:

Steps:

1. Trigger: When a member has not logged in or interacted for a set period (e.g., 30 days).
2. Action: Send a friendly email checking in, offering new resources or inviting them to a specific event that relates to them.
3. Follow up: If no response, send a reminder after another week. Attach articles. information or guides related to their needs, challenges and wants. 
4. Goal: Re-invigorate members who have become less active by solving their specific challenges. 

6. Collect member feedback for continuous improvement

Regularly ask members for their views through surveys. Use HubSpot’s survey tools to gather insights, which you can then analyse to identify areas for improvement and new opportunities within your community.

Key actions:

• Distribute satisfaction surveys periodically.
• Analyse responses to develop your community strategies.
• Make changes based on feedback to deliver more value.

7. Recognise active members to boost loyalty

Public recognition, rewards or badges motivate members to contribute more. Highlighting achievements or contributions in newsletters or within your portal encourages ongoing participation and strengthens community bonds.

Key actions:

• Create recognition programmes.
• Spotlight top contributors.
• Use automation to award badges or recognitions.

8. Offer exclusive resources

Providing members with special content or early access to events makes them feel valued. Use HubSpot’s automation tools to deliver personalised, member only content that could include tutorials, webinars or discounts.

Key actions:

• Develop exclusive content for members.
• Segment your members to provide relevant resources.
• Automate delivery based on member activity or milestones.

9. Use CRM analytics to identify growth opportunities

Monitoring data helps you understand what’s working and where improvements are needed. Keep track of engagement levels, content downloads, event attendance and inactivity periods. Use this insight to fine tune your community activities and plan initiatives that drive growth.

Key actions:

• Track key engagement metrics in your dashboard.
• Identify members who are less active and create targeted re-engagement campaigns.
• Use analytics to inform your content strategy and community events.
  
  

10. Create a supportive, interactive community environment

Encourage member to member connection by setting up discussion forums, live chat features, or Q&A sections. These interactive elements build a sense of connection and support within your community, increasing member loyalty and participation.

Key actions:

• Integrate interactive tools within your portal.
• Motivate members to share ideas, ask questions and help each other.
• Recognise active contributors and promote positive interactions.

Growing your community involves more than simply adding members
It’s about creating a space where they feel valued, engaged and connected. HubSpot CRM-powered portals provide the tools to simplify management, automate routine tasks and deliver personalised experiences, making community growth achievable and sustainable.

Use these 10 proven strategies to create a vibrant, active community that adds real value to your organisation and your members.